Santana dealing for the Mets

The fans are filing in to the ballpark for the 3:55 p.m. start and it looks as if the place is going to be packed to the rafters by first pitch. It also appears as if the Phillies are going to need to win today to clinch the NL East, because Johan Santana just finished the eighth inning at Shea with a shutout intact.

It appears as if the Mets will live to fight another day.

Better for the Phillies or any other team that might have to face the Mets down the road, it appears as if Santana will need a good five days before he pitches again. Through eight innings, Santana has allowed two hits on 104 pitches. This, of course, comes three days after Santana turned in a complete game victory on a career-high 125 pitches in his last outing.

Needless to say, Johan has earned a break.

Meanwhile, we’re getting ready to get busy here in Philly. It looks as if the Phillies will need to win to sew it up.

Hey, it's Barack! Yeah, that Barack

Phew! Lots of craziness going on here... where do we start? Maybe with Google Chrome? I downloaded it yesterday hours after its launch and have been using it ever since. I was a Firefox devotee for years, but I am going to give Google's new browser a try. So far it seems a little quicker and maybe even a little less buggy. We'll see how it goes.

Or do we begin with Donyell Marshall, the newest addition to the 76ers. Interestingly, I actually recall the very first time I ever saw Marshall - a 14-season NBA veteran - play basketball.

It was either 1988 or 1989 and I was sitting on the home team bench our gym at McCaskey High School. Marshall, probably a freshman or sophomore in high school at the time, rolled down 222 with his teammates from Reading High. Back then Donyell was built like a Q-Tip. He was all legs, tall and skinny. Like, really skinny. Even though Reading was always a good basketball team that usually gave us fits, no one knew much about Marshall. He just looked so young and we figured he was in the game because he was taller than his other teammates.

You can't teach height, they say.

Nevertheless, no one really paid too much attention to Donyell until a point early in the game when he caught the ball on the low block at the hoop on the far end of the gym, turned around with a man on him, jumped straight up into the air and dunked the ball with one hand.

That one got our attention. Besides, the gym got really quiet after that. "Uh-oh," is what we thought.

Anyway, Marshall is with the Sixers now. Too bad they don't train at Franklin & Marshall College any more...

Maybe we can start with the Phillies and the trip to Washington, which is where I am sitting as I type. Certainly left-handed starter Cole Hamels turned in another stellar outing last night to beat the Nationals to keep the Phillies two games behind the Mets in the NL East. Perhaps more interesting is the fact that Hamels will start in the big, nationally televised Sunday night game against the New York Mets and Johan Santana.

Coming off a 4-0 win over the Nationals on Tuesday night where he tossed 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball, Hamels pushed his league-leading innings total to 203. More importantly, Hamels threw 104 pitches on Tuesday and 108 in seven innings in the previous start in Chicago on Aug. 28. Hamels has thrown 100 pitches or more in 17 of his 29 starts, but has gone over 110 eight times and just twice since July 3.

Moreover, Hamels has better statistics this year when he pitches on four days rest (8-2, 2.47) as opposed to five (4-5, 4.14). Sometimes, Hamels says, he feels a little "off" with that extra day of rest.

"I understood the situation. I think this is the time that really matters," Hamels said. "I know five days is what I just did five days ago. That's what I've been able to do all year, and that's what I'll do this time. The main guy, when it's the playoffs or the division championship or the big division rivalry, that's what I want to be. It's time to step up to the plate, and I know that I'm ready for it."

Manuel and Dubee feel the same way.

"He's coming off 108 pitches and 104 [Tuesday]," Dubee said. "You have to give the kid credit - he's worked hard and kept himself in shape. He's preserved his body and prepared well."

Besides, with just 22 games remaining in the season after Wednesday's game against Washington, the Phillies are putting a lot of stock into the series against the Mets. Sunday's game, in particular, is one of those two-game swing outings. Since Kendrick turned in a 6.08 ERA during August, and was tattooed for six runs, eight hits and three walks last Monday in a loss to the Nats, the decision wasn't too difficult.

Actually, it was just a matter of Hamels recovering well enough following Tuesday's start to give the thumbs up.

"I talked to Kyle - he wants to pitch," Dubee said. "I respect that. But we want Cole."

However, it seems as if the weather could play a role in this weekend's pitching matchups against the Mets. Saturday's early forecast shows lots of rain in the New York Metropolitan area, which could force a wash out. If that occurs, Sunday would set up a day-night doubleheader in which both Kendrick and Hamels would pitch.

No, we're not going to discuss the weather.

However, it should be noted that it is pretty damn hot down here. But then again (as we have written in the past) this city was built on top of a swamp.

Speaking of Washington (weren't we?), the town is rather empty this week. Part of the reason is because the Republican convention is in St. Paul, Minn. this week. Another reason is because Congress is not in session. Still another reason is because campaign season is in full affect so everyone is out doing all of that stuff.

Nevertheless, Washington is an industry town (yes, we've broached this topic in the past, too) and the product is government. However, it seems different here these days. Most of the time the politicians eschew the so-called Georgetown cocktail circuit or even routine weekends hanging around with each other in The District in order to return to their home districts. As a result, the theory goes, fewer behind-the-scenes deals get brokered and the government is less efficient.

If that's possible.

Yes, that was too easy.

Speaking of Franklin & Marshall, Washington, the campaign season and basketball enthusiasts, get this:

Barack Obama is going to be in my backyard tomorrow.

Yes, that Barack Obama.

And when I mean in my backyard, I'm not kidding. See, the Senator from Illinois will bring his presidential campaign to Lancaster's Buchanan Park at 5 p.m. tomorrow. Chances are he will give a speech and rally his supporters into being even more supportive. Plus, such events are fun because it brings out all sorts of people - both pro- and anti-whatever the issue is. Frankly, I enjoy the spectacle.

Since it's early September and steaming hot out there, Barack won't be showing up at Buchanan Park to sled down the ol' hill. However, I imagine they could open up the wading pool on the other side of the sledding hill for him.

Of course, he could hang near the dog run, too.

Whatever Barack decides to do, it will be a fun event. Guys running for president don't make it to Buchanan Park all that often, and I should know. After all, not only have I lived in the neighborhood near the park most of my life, but back during the summer of '88, I was the Buchanan Park playground supervisor for the Lancaster Rec Commission. Yep, that was me. I coached the softball team, planned activities, lifeguarded the pool and generally kept the riff-raff of my home neighborhood in line.

Then again, Buchanan Park is named for a president. President James Buchanan, in fact, and the guy lived two blocks away on Marietta Ave. I even suspect the land that was quartered off and developed into Buchanan Park was originally part of the President's estate, called, "Wheatland."

Buchanan Park, of course, is directly adjacent to F&M College, which just so happens to be where John McCain will visit next Tuesday.

Yes, that John McCain.

That's two different presidential candidates in less than a week, if you are scoring at home. That's also two different spectacles I hope to attend.

Regardless, those guys must really like Lancaster. Tomorrow will be Obama's third trip to town and it will be McCain's second in two months. If either guy wants to stop by, they are more than welcome. We'll be in the neighborhood.

2008 Phillies are World Serious

I feel the need to amend. I'd say clarify instead, but to do something like that means to omit a wrong. And man was I wrong.

Not too long ago - January 30, 2008, to be precise - I wrote a little essay entitled, "2008 Phillies: Playing for 2nd place" and, man, was I ever off on that one.

Sheesh!

The basic premise of the story was that Johan Santana was so good that the Mets would not be able to help themselves in winning the NL East. To be sure, Santana is good. Actually, he's very good and probably better than any pitcher the Phillies have. In fact, Santana might very well win 20 games for the Mets this season and in his 11 starts so far, the Mets are 8-3.

In that regard the Santana deal is working out very well for the Mets.

The trouble is that while the Mets have a .727 winning percentage in games started by Santana, they are 18-24 in games started by pitchers not named Johan Santana. Those aren't exactly Steve Carlton in '72 numbers, but who would have guessed that the Mets would have been this bad?

The idea was that Santana would lift up the entire ballclub rather than be the guy doing all the heavy lifting.

So here we are on the last day of May on the cusp of June with July and the All-Star Break not too far away. Behind that, the dog days lurk, but by then will the Mets (or Mutts) have rolled over on their backs to reveal their soft, pink rounded bellies.

That certainly seems where we're headed.

Really, come on... who would have guessed that there would have been such a big carry-over from the most epic collapse in baseball history? Apparently, not me.

So that's the reason for the amendment. Because the Mets, well... stink, and because the Braves might not have all of the pitching or health needed, and because the Marlins aren't quite ready yet, the NL East in 2008 is the Phillies' to lose.

Actually, make that to win.

Yes, it's all rainbows and unicorns here with the Phillies these days.  After all, they score runs like a beer league softball team and pitch well enough not to mess up anything. No, that last part isn't the most inspiring type of pitching staff to have, but whatever.

Unless something really wacky occurs, don't expect to see the Phillies give up first place any time this year.

Encore!

So the big Cole Hamels vs. Johan Santana matchup was kind of good. It wasn't one of those transcendent matchups like we always heard about when Bob Gibson took on Robin Roberts or Sandy Koufax and all of those other great pitchers from a generation or two or go, but that's not the fault of the pitchers. There just aren't enough great pitchers to go around to have those classic matchups the way they used to.

Nevertheless, Hamels likely will square off against Santana again this season and it has already pitched in a much-hyped showdown against Roger Clemens during his first season in the big leagues. Of that outing Hamels wasn't so much geeked up about pitching against Clemens as he was about hitting against him. In fact, the single Hamels rapped out was the only one Clemens surrendered that day.

Hamels didn't get any hits against Santana last night, but for the first seven innings of the game most of his teammates didn't either. Santana was crafty and sneakily good against the Phillies. He allowed a just one hit through the first six innings before Chase Utley led off the seventh with a solo shot into the bullpen in deep right-center. More impressively, Santana got 10 strikeouts against the first 23 hitters he faced.

The impressive part about that was Santana threw just 14 first-pitch strikes to the 26 hitters he faced. That's just OK... if that. It certainly wasn't as good as the first-strike ratio Hamels posted (22 for 28), which means a couple of things. One is Santana was sharp until he reached the 100-pitch plateau and a second is that the Mets were up there hacking early at Hamels.

Hamels noticed that. After the game he said it seemed as if the Mets' book on him was to get after him early in the count to avoid falling into a hole and putting the young lefty in position to use his batting-average destroying changeup.

"Because I've been around for two years there's plenty of video on me," Hamel said. "Hitters are swinging early in the count and not waiting for my ‘out' pitch."

As a result, the Mets forced the Phillies error-prone defense to make plays. When they didn't (misplays by Jayson Werth and Ryan Howard proved costly), Hamels' frustration showed.

"Some things caught up with me tonight," Hamels said. "I definitely showed my emotions on the field, dropping my head a few times going, ‘How did that happen?' But I'll see these guys again, and I'll make the adjustments."

Perhaps he'll even see Santana, though Hamels claimed he would be more prone to get caught up in the hype of the rivalry if he weren't pitching. When he's on the mound, Hamels says, the focus is on the Mets' hitters and not the opposing pitcher. The new-age Carlton-Seaver/Phillies-Mets matchup was almost lost on Hamels, who was more concerned with the four hits David Wright got than anything else.

Still, Hamels tipped his hand that he had some idea that Santana was stringing up the goose eggs on the scoreboard. For as much as he downplayed the big-time matchup, deep down Hamels knew Friday night's game was different.

That can explain the uncharacteristic displays of frustration on the field after a few plays.

"There definitely isn't much margin for error," Hamels said. "He's always going to be able to have success. When you go into a game, you know it's going to be low-scoring and you hope you're on the right side of it. He has phenomenal stuff that he can get away with mistakes."

Any way you slice it following the first installment, Hamels v. Santana could turn out to be baseball's best pitching duel in one of its better rivalries.

Truth hits everybody

If you ever have the chance to visit a press box in a Major League stadium, take the invitation under advisement. These places are how I always imagined old west saloons to be in that they are filled with misfits, outlaws and the dregs of society. Essentially, the kids you knew in high school that you were fairly certain would eventually move on to a solid career as a name on the authorities watch list hang out in big-league press boxes. The press box in a ballpark in any city across the country is where these people gather nowadays. Once, Manifest Destiny sent all those people west to escape one bad deed or another, but a century-and-a-half later, they watch professional sporting events.

If there were a piano player plinking out those jaunty, bouncy saloon notes, all we'd need is someone to serve whiskey instead of Hi-C and then the ballpark in South Philly would instantly be transformed into an episode of Deadwood."

I've never actually ever seen an episode of Deadwood, but I hear things.

Anyway, in the press box, the outlaws and the rejects get together and talk about the state of things. No, it ain't exactly a sewing circle, but if anyone wants to hear the story behind the story, a press box is a good place to go.

And if you go, just make sure you're updated on your shots and your papers are in order. I also suggest taking a small shiv that can be stowed up a sleeve or behind a belt. When you step into a press box, you never know when it's about to go down...

Needless to say I made it out of press row at CBP following Monday afternoon's debacle against the Washington Nationals relatively unscathed. I say relatively because I woke up this morning with a head cold that made me feel as if a dump truck at backed over my temples. A baseball bat to the noggin would have been preferable to the feeling I had all morning until a Technicolor nose-blowing session, a couple of Sudafeds and some Italian Roast from the Starbucks.

They didn't have Yukon.

The fact is that along with its general surliness, the press box is the breeding ground for many airborne infections and diseases. Again, if you go, make sure you're updated on the vaccinations.

Anyway, based on a few of my conversations with a handful of creeps at the ballpark yesterday I was able to discern that most folks in the know don't think much of the 2008 Phillies. Sure, they are a playoff-contending team and very well could capture the NL East for a second straight season. But in order for that to happen the team's hitters are going to have bash the ball at a rate more prolific than Genghis Khan.

Simply put, the pitching just isn't there.

Initially I felt bad about predicting a third-place finish in the NL East for the Phillies. I was worried that I made such a pronouncement out of some sort of spite or anger that is rooted in my DNA as a born-and-bred Northeasterner. Worse, I felt that by suggesting that the Phillies were only as good as the offense would allow them to be that I would be exposed as an even bigger fraud than what is already obvious. What happens if the Phillies' pitching measures up with the rest of the staffs in the division? Surely no one likes to be shown that they don't know what they are talking about.

Then again that, as they say, is part of baseball. Players rise up and shove it in someone's cakehole every day. One day a guy is up, the next day, yadda, yadda, yadda...

But when Tom Gordon slinked off the mound after that five-run ninth as if he had just been caught feeding rat poison to the neighbor's overly yappy dog, it all became clear. A few of my more astute colleagues and I were correct - it's all about the pitching.

And that means the Phillies, as they are currently constructed, are going to have to bash their way to another playoff appearance.

Meanwhile, it was noted by more than a few folks in the writing press that if people truly believe that the Mets' acquisition of Johan Santana is relatively insignificant, then the proper course of action would be to remove the television from their homes so they could never, ever watch the game again. Because it's obvious they don't get it.

Santana is another one of those truths that some people just don't want to accept.

2008 Phillies: Playing for 2nd place

It could go down that Johan Santana was involved in two of the most lopsided trades in baseball history. In addition to landing with the Mets from the Twins for a pile of potential prospects, the two-time Cy Young Award winner was once traded from the Marlins for a dude named Jared Camp. That was after the Marlins plucked him away from the Astros in the Rule 5 Draft.

So yeah, there are a lot of smart baseball folks that missed the boat on Johan Santana. The Mets, however, are not one of those "smart" teams. Instead of feeling the knee-jerk blather from fans, pundits and Billy Wagner regarding the dearth of wintertime moves, the Mets now have the best pitcher in baseball at the top of the rotation.

We'd get into the analysis of how good Santana is with his statistics and all of that stuff, but what's the point? He's a lefty, he's nasty and he's better than everyone else in the game. Go look up the stats yourself, though I will give one warning before you click on the link - they should make Phillies fans a little sick in the stomach.

Out here in the hinterlands I really don't get the full affect of the Philly sporting press's deconstruction of the Santana deal, but then again who needs it. After all, it's not the balance of power in the NL East that shifted with Santana's arrival in Queens - it's the balance of power in the entire National League that shifted.

Playoff baseball at Shea one last time, anyone?

The big question, of course, is what does it all mean for the Phillies. Well, for starters the Phillies will have to root for an even bigger and more epic collapse from the Mets down the stretch. They also have to root for an injury to Santana, though the guy hasn't missed a start since 2004. In that regard the Phillies might be better served with a voodoo doll.

More concisely, facing Santana a handful of times in 2008 will have a profound effect on the Phillies' lineup. That's especially the case when one notes that Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Geoff Jenkins are all lefty swingers.

It is worth noting that switch-hitters Jimmy Rollins hit .321 against lefties in 2007 and Shane Victorino went at a .291 clip. But then again, Santana has been just as tough on righties (.220) as lefties (.223) during his career.

Here's what else Santana-to-the-Mets means for the Phillies:

It means they should go out and make an offer to a pitcher like Kyle Lohse or Livan Hernandez and hope they sign on...

Before the Mets get both of them.